Very Gratifying Indeed

I think Troy Polamalu summed it up best: "This win, believe me, is very gratifying."

Even more gratifying when you consider that the league clearly wanted Indianapolis to win, as evidenced by: (1) a very blatant pass interference on Randle-El in the first half that was completely ignored by the refs, almost as if the color of Randle-El's jersey was "invisible"; (2) the fourth-and-one, fourth quarter play where the entirety of Indy's defensive line jumped offsides and the officials ruled that there was no infraction; and (3) the unconscionable reversal of Polamalu's fourth-quarter interception for reasons I still do not completely understand (something about his knee being down, which I thought was the very definition of when posession is established). But, you ultimately can't trifle with the football gods, and their disdain for the poor officiating was evident when they pushed that liquored-up, idiot kicker's field goal attempt ridiculously right.

Now, onto Denver. Personally, I think the Steelers are going to get slaughtered. I mean, we were able to contain Peyton Manning, but Jake Plummer's a whole different animal. My early pick, a la Bill Simmons: Denver, 105, Pittsburgh, 3.